Aurelius Augustinus ( ) Childhood, The Pear Tree, Student at Carthage, Worldly Ambitions

Reflection: “My soul was depraved.”  Augustine’s work is a spiritual biography, the story of a young man’s long and troubled journey to his final conversion to Christianity.  It is also an account of a life pervaded by a sense of sin (moral evil).  This is the unique contribution of Christianity to the Western Mind.

Concentration: The Spiritual Life of Regret and Shame  The concentration on the spiritual life, rather than the life of activity or the intellect.  The first account of childhood in Western literature.  Man is basically sinful—even “…a child, who has lived one day on earth.”  Only God’s Providence can offer humans hope for salvation.

Genre: Confessional  Confesses directly to God.  No Greek or Roman would confess to a god.  Introduces the notion that a god would be interested in an individual’s confession of wrongdoings.  An alien concept to ancient Greek or Roman mentality.

Augustine’s Contribution  One of the men responsible for consolidation of the fragmented Church.  First autobiography in Western literature.  Proclaims the value of the individual soul and the importance of its relation to God.  He stands as the transitional figure between the ancient and medieval world view.

Augustine’s Theodicy:  We are children, wandering in ignorance.  We are capable of redemption if we patiently wait for Providence.  Hope and faith must coexist with guilt and fear.

The Problem: The Body  Sexuality, the problem, is the source of moral evil, and thus, forces the religious quest.  Evil is the result of man’s misuse of free will— ”turning” away from God.  We are enslaved to the passions of the lowest order.  We are incapable of self-transformation, due to the power of willfulness, vanity, and pride.

The Solution: Love of God  Love of God, the solution, can thrive only if love of self and love of the flesh are conquered.  If we can escape this world, from self to God, from flesh to spirit, we achieve the deepest purpose and direction of human life.  An authoritative Church structure is needed to give us guidance.